Wood-bending machine.



PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

H. L. STALEY. WOOD BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 1'1. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 788,960. PATENTBD MAY 2, 1905.

H. LSTALEY. WOOD BENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 17,1904.

Nirnp STATES E'atented. May 2, 1905.

Aralar rricn.

HARRISON L. STALEY, OF MARTINSVILLE'INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE OLD HICKORY CHAIR COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

WOOD-BENDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,960, dated May 2, 1905.

Application filed November 17, 1904. Serial No. 283,092.

To all whom zit may concern,.-

Be itV known that I, HARRISON L. STALEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Martinsville, in the county of Morgan and State of Indiana, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in VVood-Bending Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, referlence being' had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to machines that are designed for the purpose of bending' steamed wood adapted to be used in the manufacture of rustic chairs and other articles, the invention having particular reference to machines for bending wood of the character of hooppoles with the bark attached thereto.

The object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive powerful machine adapted to be operated rapidly and economically, and especially adapted. to bend rough poles, or those that have uneven surfaces; and the invention consists in the novel features of construction and in the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter particularly described and claimed.

Referring to the drawings, Figure I is a side elevation of a machine embodying the improvements; Fig. 2, atop planthereof; Fig. 3, a front end elevation; Fig. 4, a rear end elevation, and Fig'. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view at the plane of the line l l in Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters in the various figures of the drawings indicate like elements or features.

In construction a frame is provided comprising four corner-posts at, c, and d, to the tops of which are attached upper rails e, f, g, and 71, and near the lower ends of the posts lower rails fz, y', and if; are attached thereto, and other suitable members may be included in the frame. A bar Z extends across the lower' part of the frame and is attached to lower rails, and other bars, m and n, are attached to the upper rails and extend across the frame.

Two pairs of journal-boxes p p and q q are mounted upon the top of the frame, each box being near a corner of the frame. A rotative roll-shaft fr is journaled in one pair of boxes, and a like shaft .s is journaled in the other pair of boxes, the shaft fr extending beyond the rear end of the frame and the box yf, and a gear-wheel t is secured to the extended end of the shaft fr'. Midwaybetween the posts @and l are a pair of suitably-supported journalboxes 2 and 3, in which are journaled a main shaft u, to which is secured a pinion fr, engaging and driving the Wheel t, tight and loose pulleys A and 5 being secured also to the shaft u. Between the bearings of the shaft r a gearwheel w is secured thereto, which engages and drives a gear-wheel m, that is mounted rotatively on the main shaft u, the wheel .fr engaging' and driving a gear-wheel y, that is secured to the shaft s between its bearings, so that the main shaft drives the shaft r and the latter drives the shaft .s and in the same direction therewith by means of the wheel The bending-rolls are three in number, a roll A being secured to the shaft fr and a roll B to the shaft s, and a roll C is mounted on a laterally-movable and vibrating shaft in a plane above the shafts fr and s and will be further described in detail. The rolls have peripheral grooves for guiding' the work and assisting in the bending operations.

A journal-box D is mounted on the end rail f between the boxes p and Q and extends to a more elevated plane than they, the box D supporting a journaled stub-shaft E, to the outer end of which is secured a gear-wheel 6, that is engaged and driven by a gear-wheel z, that is secured to the shaft 7 near the wheel t. The shaft E is provided with a part F, that is secured to the inner end thereof and to which is connected a part F, the parts F and F' constituting' a universal joint of wellknown form, and a vibrating rotative shaft G is secured to the part F' thereof and carries 4 the roll C, which is secured to the shaft. On the shaft G is a journal-bearing H, carried thereby, in which the shaft rotates, a pair of collars 7 and 8 being secured to the shaft at opposite ends of the box to prevent movement of the box along the shaft, the box being arranged between two vertical guides I and I', which permit of free vertical movement and a limited amount of horizontal movement of the box, and consequently of the shaft G. Ajournal-boxJ is also carried by the shaftGr near the roll C, the shaft rotating in the box, to which is connected a controlling-rod K by means of a pivot J at the under side of the box, the lower end of the rod K being pivoted to a foot-lever L, which has its inner end pivoted to a suitable support attached to the frame, the outer end of the foot-lever being provided with a foot-piece 9, which is convex and roughened on its top. The lever L is designed to be stopped in its upward movement by the lower rail e' and is normally held against the rail by a coiled spring M, that is strained between the lever and a hook 10, that is secured to the upper rail e of the frame. In the drawings the lever is shown as in mid-position and the shaft G in horizonal position, so that if the footlever be elevated to its stop the shaft Gr would be elevated at its free end and be inclined to the horizontal.

It should be understood that, if preferred, thc boxes J and H may be combined as a single part and not separated by the collar 8, as is obvious. Also in a more simple construction the wheels a and 6 may be dispensed with, in which case the roll C would be rotated by means of the work passing under it on the two driven rolls, and obviously in such modified construction the stub-shaft E may be stationary, and so the shaft G, in which case the roll C would be designed to rotate on the shaft Gr. Other minor modifications may also be made within the scope of the invention.

In practical use the operator will stand at the front end of the machine near the treadleend of the foot-lever L and the latter will be allowed to rise, so that the roll C will be above the plane of the tops of the rolls A and B. Then the pole is to be placed upon the two rolls A and B, while at the same time the lever L should be forced downwardly, so that the roll C will defiect and bend the pole, the rotation of the three rolls drawing the pole under the roll C toward and over the roll B and bending it to any degree of curvature desired, depending upon the amount of force applied to the foot-lever, and consequently to the roll C. After bending a piece of work the roll C will again be permitted to rise, so that another piece may be operated upon. When the machine is at rest, the roll C' will stand in the elevated position. When the poles have knots or thick parts passing over the roll A, the box H will be forced against the guide If, and when passing' over the roll B the box will be forced toward and probably against the guide I.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. A bendingmachine including a frame, a pair of roll-shafts journaled in stationary bearings on the frame, rolls secured to the shafts, a stub-shaft mounted in a stationary bearing on the frame, a guide mounted on the frame, a vibrating' shaft jointed to the stub-shaft and cooperating with the guide so as to move vertically and laterally in relation thereto, a bend-v ing-roll mounted on the vibrating shaft, a footlever mounted in the frame, and a controlling-rod connected to the foot-lever and also operatively connected with the vibrating shaft.

2. A bending-machine comprising a frame, a main shaft journaled in the frame, a pinion secured to the main shaft, a gear-wheel rotative on the main shaft, a pair of roll-shafts journaled on the frame in a plane above the main shaft and having' each a bending-roll secured thereto and also a gear secured thereto meshing with the gear-wheel of the main shaft, a guide mounted on the frame and extending above the plane of the roll-shafts, a gear-wheel secured to one of the roll-shafts in engagement with the pinion, a stub-shaft journaled in a plane above the roll-shafts, a gear-wheel secured to the stub-shaft, a gear-wheel secured to one of the roll-shafts in engagement with the gear-wheel of the stub-shaft, a universal joint `connected to the stub-shaft, a vibrating shaft connected to the universal joint and having a bending-roll secured thereto and cooperating with the guide, a controlling-rod having operative connection with the vibrating shaft,afootlever connected to the controlling-rod, and a spring cooperating to elevate the foot-lever.

3. In a bending-machine, the combination with the frame and the pair of bending-rolls mounted on the frame, of the .journal-box mounted on the frame in a plane between the bending-rolls, a stub-shaft journaled in the box, a universal joint connected to the stubshaft, a guide mounted on the frame, avibrating rotative shaft connected to the universal joint,` a journal-bearing carried by the vibrating shaft in proximity to the guide, collars secured to the vibratin g shaft at opposite ends of the journal-bearing, a bending-roll secured to the vibrating shaft, and a controlling-rod having a journal-box engaging the vibrating shaft adjacently to the bending-roll that is secured thereto, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRISON L. STALEY.

Witnesses:

HENRY S. LEWIS, W. R. MCCRACKEN. 

